Effective pricing of legal services for law firms

Having the right conversations with clients around pricing

One of the key issues identified was not only a lack of confidence, but an unwillingness or lack of education around how to have conversations with clients about pricing that enables all parties to agree a fee that is fair to all parties.

Peter said: “Many have a lack of self esteem, they don’t believe in themselves or that they have any worth to their clients.

“There’s always a fear at the back of their minds that if they ask for the price that they want and that they really should be charging, that the clients will leave and not instruct them. Actually, you shouldn’t be doing work at a loss.

“There is a lack of knowledge around how to negotiate prices. People have never been taught. I find there’s very little training on how to price within law firms. Many of them are floundering.”

Within this conversation, one of the key points acknowledged was that clients or prospective clients will sometimes push back upon proposed fees, and during the session speakers provided advice on how to manage these tricky conversations to ensure that the work still converts, but at an acceptable fee.

Priya commented: “There is a general inertia amongst lawyers to discuss price. What they tend to often do is to quote a price and then that’s where the conversation stops and it is based upon this  fear of ‘what if I do lose the client?’ or they don’t follow up their quotes to see whether or not they can do something else for the client.

“And it’s about having the conversation with the client and saying ‘if it is too expensive for you, let’s redefine the scope’.

“And we often don’t talk about scope, and I don’t mean in terms of getting the job done, but what service levels are we going to offer for that price.”

The conversation continued, including advice upon different type of fee arrangement, and when these might be more or less appropriate, marketing and ensuring your firm can offer a point of difference to your competitors, and of course the importance of data.

If you like the sound of these topics, and think they could add value to your own pricing methodologies – you can listen to the recording here. Please note that this is membership content, and you can find out more about the Small Firms Network, including how to become a member, here. 

If you are finding it tricky to accurately and effectively price your services, it may be time to consider whether your firm or team’s profile could be part of the challenge. To discuss marketing, PR and brand profile for your firm do get in touch or arrange a 121 with Victoria today.